Clack Valve sound
 

There is no better sound than when a Railway Steam Engine is ticking over.

I understand that the noise emanates from the clack valve.

The cd entitled "Essential Sound Effects of Steam Engines" doesn't seem to have this sound.

Does anyone know where I can obtain a cd with a raiway steam engine ticking over?

Welcome to the Forum Crockhamtown. Can't help you with the CD but look forward to your posts.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Hello and welcome to the forum, enjoy and all the best.

Hello Crockhamtown and welcome to the Railway Forum. Sorry I don;t know of a CD with a raiway steam engine ticking over. Hope someone on the forum can help you.

Hello
 

How does a steam loco 'tick over'when the wheels are driven directly by the pistons and cannot be disengaged with a clutch?
Maybe you are thinking of a Westinghouse steam air compressor huffing and puffing while the engine is stationary.
John (G)

Is it a Clack Valve or not?
 

I can only say that when visiting the Engine House of the Severn Valley Railway I happened to mention the sound a steam engine makes when at a standstill, and someone said that it was the Clack Valve. Heads nodded at this explanation.

Whatever the cause, the sound is so evocative of railway steam engines that I would very much like to obtain a cd of this if there is one to purchase.
~~
Keith

clack valves
 

Hello Keith To start we are talking about The Severn Valley Railway and I'll have to admit to having limited knowledge of Great Western engines. I worked on the LNER as a fireman and I'm a bit confused by what you mean when you say a Railway Steam Engine is ticking over.
The LNER engines as I remember did not tick over and clack valves were silent. A clack valve is part of the injector which could on occasion get stuck in the open position by scale from the boiler. This would allow steam through the overflow pipe making a hissing sound.
On some LNER engines as John G has said a Westinghouse steam air compressor or donkey as we called it would make a huffing and puffing while the engine is stationary. Perhaps we need someone who's clued up about GW engines to explain the ticking over sound you heard.

I think when we were nights shed turning(not literaly!)setting the engines for the morning
shifts to come and prepare,as locojo will rember at Enfield there where usualy 12 or more
engines in steam but they where never silent, dispite the steam pressure being low they
would gurgle, tick,hiss,in fact as a young passed cleaner who had to keep the fires in and the water topped up, it could be very scarey,on your own dark and often the engines would be way out of the shed. Coal on another engine would drop onto the cab floor with a rattle or you would hear imaginery footsteps.A quick dash to the shanty to recover with a strong cup of tea to pluck up courage for the next trip round the engines.Rember most of us whereonly 14 or15 years old at the time, but those engines
certainly made noises.

Nights
 

Yes Dave nights on the shed looking after engines in steam could be a bit scarey for a young passed cleaner. Plenty of card schools going with some lateshift men playing all night until about 6am.
Engines which had a clack up could be a nuisance when the boiler water level kept dropping which meant we had to keep topping it up. For those who don't know a clack up means scale from the boiler has stopped the injector clack valve closing properly and steam could escape from the overflow pipe. One remedy to cure a clack up was to belt the injector with a hammer to try and move the scale.
As you say Dave some engines made various noises but I never heard one tick over as Keith said he heard on The Severn Valley Railway. As I remember a week on nights meant a hefty pay packet in the early 1950s. Some weeks I earned about £10 which was more more than my Dad earned. In those days we were expected to contribute towards the household budget and a week on nights meant Mum got extra.

Found one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRhORndOWzk

Is this the sound you heard, from 0.25 onwards, which is the Westinghouse
pump

Westinghouse pump
 

Another youtube video showing N7 69621 with Westinghouse pump working.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klGh6...eature=related

The wonderful sound of Westinghouse pump.
The 'thump thump' rhythm simply isn't complete without the 'bang/clatter' supplanted by some choice swearwords as the Driver knocks seven bells out of it with the coal hammer...... :D

Donkey
 

One day we were running from Liverpool st. to Enfield with an N7 0-6-2 tank when the Westinghouse pump or donkey stopped working. The best way to restart the donkey was to belt it with a large hammer, this usually did the trick but on this day after a couple of pumps it stopped again.
The driver said to me you'll have to stand on the running board and keep hitting it until we get to Enfield. So there was I in the pouring rain standing on the running board belting the donkey, this I did for a couple of miles until we reached Enfield. I wonder what todays Health & Safety would make of that.:D

More on 'ticking over'
 

The only time I have heard railway engines 'ticking over' when stationary, is in films or documentaries.

I didn't hear it at the Severn Valley Railway. I just took the opportunity whilst there to ask a question about it to some of the railway enthusiasts present.

I am sorry to have misled everyone.

But the following from chuffchuff and locojoe is very close to the sound I remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRhORndOWzk

Many thanks
Keith

I love that sound too. I love all train sounds, especially when you start up a diesel train that hasn't been run for a while and it sends a huge plume of exhaust into the air.... the best!

Can recall a similar tale.The westinghouse pump stopped working, however it can of course be operated 'manually'. So for the 50 miles back to the shed the fireman had to sit on the running plate in driving snow and at speeds of upto 50mph operating this pump (luckily there were a couple of other individuals on the footplate to fire!)!

Westinghouse pumps
 

Hi Jim our Westinghouse pumps on N7s back in the 1950s could not be operated manually, well I never saw one being worked like that.

Maybe ours were a different type to the pumps your talkiing about.:)

locojoe,
The scenario I'm on about was on a European loco, where some locos have Westinghouse pumps which have a type of ratcheted handle so as to move it manually, usually administered with the steam valve open and a good clout of the hammer!

Sorted
 

Well thats sorted then.:D

Keith
 

As I remember, also at Enfield Loco, the clack made a thump when closing the steam injector. This was caused by the sudden stop of water passing through the steam injector.

Oh mate, halcyon days, we didn't realize at the time, how good they really where. :(

Dave Medcalfe, are you on Skype?

skype
 

Sorry dave not on skype.

injector and clack noises
 

When we operated injectors full size if they where picking up properly as you
would remember they would what we called sing a sound perculiar to injectors.I dont know the rate of water that they supplied to the boiler but it must have been quite substantial.On my own minature loco the injector pumps at 4 pints a minute and when working it sings away just like full size,
and the clack goes down with a click.If you want to see a picture of my loco,
look on our club website. www. cramec.org

Hi Dave,

What happened to the Brittania loco that Frank Bannister built? It must be worth a bomb now!

Frank Banister
 

Dave I fired to frank a few times but he never mentioned a model Brit,depending on the guage or if it was live steam they can fetch a hefty price. my own engine is insured for £7000,It needs quite a bit of maintaining
as it works practicaly every Sunday at Canvey and usualy covers about 10 mile, the boiler has to be tested yearly by an inspector who issues a certificate if all is well.Last Sunday the mechanical lubricator was playing up,
so i have that stripped down at the moment,but its a very rewarding hobby
keeps my hand in at firing and driving just like the good old days.